Hello everyone!  I’m new to posting although I’ve lurked on the boards many times.
I’m getting married soon to a wonderful man who is half Latvian.  I’d love to keep or start traditions to keep that part of his culture alive.  So I may be asking many questions here!

First off… are there any special traditions that I could incorporate in my wedding… or special foods?
I saw that there was a question about this many years ago.  I was just wondering if there were any new thoughts.

I’ve read about the bride kidnapping…
I also saw a mini blurb on stepping through wedding ribbons.  Is anyone able to explain to me how this tradition works?

I also read about sin stones - writing sins on rocks and tossing them into a body of water.

Thank you for any suggestions or insight!

Best wishes to you!

While kidnapping the bride pretty much always takes place, the tradition of “micosana” (“capping”) is probably the most folkloric aspect.  Unmarried women traditionally wear vainagi (wreaths) on their heads when they are wearing traditional Latvian clothes, while married women wear - well, it depends on the region - it can look like anything from a cap to a dishtowel.  In any case, the tradition of removing the bride’s wreath (or, if you don’t go that route, her veil) and giving her a cap is a large part of a traditional Latvian marriage.

Here’s a link to a previous LOL thread that discussed Latvian marriage customs:

http://latviansonline.com/forum/viewthread/22775/#22857

There’s also a few more links in there… hope they still work.

Oops, I guess you saw that one already!  Sorry for the repeat!

I’ll add I’ve never seen anything with ribbons or stones… but they sound nice!